Fans and Foxes
by tropermariko
Summary: Meet Mariko. She, unfortunately, lives in Nerima. What a stupid move. Now, as a martial artist, she accompanies Ranma on most of his adventures. . .while having some of her own, with her companion, Shiori.
1. Episode One: Arrival in Nerima

**Disclaimer: I own only Mariko, Shiori, and both their pasts.**

Okay, originally, this was a one – shot on my character(s) Mariko (and Shiori), and she (and he) came to Nerima. But then I got an idea to have a series of one – shots, on occasions that look important to me. Hopefully, she's not a Mary – Sue, and if she is, please tell me.

**NOTE:** This takes place between Ranma and Mousse's fight and Tsubasa's arrival in Book 9 (English version).

**NOTE 2:** The reason Shiori calls Mariko 'Mariko – sama' is because I think it sounds better then 'Lady Mariko'. Am I right? Mariko – sama just flows better for some reason, I dunno. : /

**Episode One: Arrival in Nerima**

"Class! Settle down! We have a new student today!" the teacher, catching the attention of the class quickly. He blinked. Well, guess there was a first time for everything. . .

Of course, there was a reasonable explanation. After Ranma arrived, things had definitely gotten more exciting. And if this new guy was anything like Ranma, Room 1 – F was going to be in for a hell of a year.

The teacher motioned for the person to come in. The door slid open, and all mouths (expect for Ranma, who was sleeping, and Ukyou and Akane, who were shaking their heads at their fiancé) dropped.

The new student. . .was a girl.

"Please introduce yourself." The teacher commanded. The girl quickly wrote her name on the board, turned around, and bowed.

"Um. . .hi. I'm Mizuki Mariko. . .it's nice to meet all of you." she said. The class (Ranma was still out, and Akane was ready to throw a book at him) took this chance to look her over.

She had long blonde hair that reached her waist—uncommon, maybe a foreigner?—and bright, green eyes. Her clothes were that of the girl's uniform—a white blouse under a blue dress, socks, and shoes. In both her hands was the official school bag.

"Please take a seat next to Tendou – san over there."

Mariko nodded, and then took the empty seat next to Akane. She smiled shyly. "Hi."

"Hi." Akane said, smiling back.

**SCENECHANGESCENECHANGESCENECHANGE**

Several periods later, it was finally lunchtime. Akane pulled a lunchbox from her bag, courtesy of Kasumi. Mariko, however, frowned and looked through her bag, void of everything but books. Ukyou looked at her strangely.

"Is there something wrong, sugar?"

She shook her head, closing her bag and placing it next to her desk. "No. . .it's just that I think I left my lunch at home. . ."

Ranma (who had woken up last period and introduced himself), handed her his box. "Here. You can have mine."

Mariko looked shocked. "Oh, no, I couldn't! That's your lunch!"

"Yeah, but I can always take from Akane."

"What?! No way! Kasumi made this for me!"

"Well, you could at share some of it, ya uncute tomboy!"

"What was that you stupid jerk?!"

Ukyou leaned over to Mariko, who was just staring in awe of the arguing couple. "Don't worry; they're like this all the time."

"Th – they are?" she blinked. "Wow. . .and I thought Shiori and I fought a lot. . ."

"Who?"

"O – oh! . . .Uh. . .no one! Hahaha. . ."

At that moment, the door burst open. Ranma jumped; prepared for a Shampoo – hug, or a Ryouga/Mousse/Kuno attack.

It was none of the usual threats. In fact, Ranma was sure he had never seen the guy standing in the doorway before. But he still kept the defensive stance up, just in case. He didn't notice Mariko, who was behind him, groan and slap a palm against her face.

The unfamiliar boy, looked around the classroom, frowning. Then, spotting Ranma, he beamed and ran over.

Ranma was completely prepared for an attack. What he wasn't prepared for was the boy going past him and stopping at Mariko's desk.

"Mariko – sama!" he chirped, dropping a box on her desk. "Look! You forgot your lunch at home, so I thought I'd bring it to you!"

Mariko, still buried in her hand, took the box from the boy. "Thanks. . .a lot. . .Shiori. . ."

"No problem, Mariko – sama!" then the boy blinked, just finally noticing all the other people who were staring at them. "Uh. . .hi?"

Ranma looked at the boy that Mariko had called 'Shiori'. He had short light brown hair, and brown eyes. He wore a white button up shirt and black pants, and flat shoes.

Ranma would've inspected him more closely, only the strange boy yelped and stood straight up.

"Ne, I guess I better be going, huh, Mariko – sama? I don't want to disturb your class anymore. . ." Shiori said, then, after waving to Mariko, he disappeared through the door. All eyes turned back to Mariko, who was facedown on her desk, mumbling.

"Who was that?" Akane asked, as Mariko lifted her head up from the table.

"It's. . .a long story. . .do you want to come to my house after school? We can talk about it there."

"Sure."

**SCENECHANGESCENECHANGESCENECHANGE**

Hours later, Mariko was leading Ranma and Akane down a small street. She had invited Ukyou too, but she said that she had to work. Of course.

"So, you're new here to Nerima, right?" Akane asked, making Ranma scoff.

"O)f course she is, Akane. If she wasn't, we would've met her by now. Stupid tomboy."

"What was that?!"

"Um. . .we're here. . ."

The couple blinked and looked up. They stood in front of a two – story building. The front of the bottom floor looked like the entrance to a shop, while the top half was a normal apartment.

Mariko opened the front door, and ushered the two in. When they did, they saw empty shelves on the wall, and a blank counter in the back. Two doors were behind it; on the back wall, and another leading to possibly another room next door.

"You live here?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah. . .I actually moved in a couple of days ago, but I was only able to go to school today. I was too busy unpacking things. . ."

"Where're your parents, if you don't mind me asking?" A melancholy expression passed over Mariko's face, and Akane was taken aback. "Oh. . .I'm sorry if I offended you. . ."

She shook her head. "No. . .it's fine. . .my mother passed away several years ago, and my father. . .well, he left when I was six and never came back. . ."

She bit her lip, and Akane placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. . .my mother passed away years ago, too. . .and Ranma hasn't seen his mother since he was six . . ."

There was an awkward silence, as the three of them contemplated the conversation. None of them wanted to say anything, least they open up past wounds.

Thankfully, a crash from upstairs caused Mariko to come out of her stupor. Quickly signaling for the other two to follow, she opened the door on the back wall and headed up some stairs.

**SCENECHANGESCENECHANGESCENECHANGE**

Mariko quickly led Ranma and Akane up the hidden stairs, opening yet another door at the top of them, showing the trio a room decorated with boxes, and a lone table stood in the middle. Or, rather, it would be standing in the middle, if not for the boy who had fallen over it and cracked it in half. A box lay haphazardly on the floor, its contents (a couple of bowls, and twice the amount of packing peanuts) strewn about.

"Shiori! What're you doing?!" Mariko said, quickly picking up the bowls and dumping them back into the box with the packing peanuts as the boy—who Ranma and Akane recognized as the boy from lunch—sat up and moved away from the broken table, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Geez. . .I told you to wait until I got home. . ."

"Sorry, Mariko – sama. . .I just wanted to help. . .I knew you'd be busy the whole day, so I wanted to help out by unpacking most of the stuff so there'll be less by the time you got back. . ."

Mariko's glare stood no chance against Shiori's puppy eyes. In the end, she sighed, covering her eyes with her hand. "Yes. Thanks. . .I guess."

Shiori beamed. Then, he realized there were others besides him and Mariko, and he turned to Ranma and Akane, a surprised look on his face. "Who're you two?"

"Oh, yeah!" Mariko turned to the couple, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry, guys, I nearly forgot about you two when I saw Shiori. . .Shiori, this is Ranma and Akane from school. . .guys, this is Shiori. . .my. . .bodyguard. . ."

The last word had been whispered, as if she wasn't proud of it. Shiori, on the other hand, grinned.

"It's nice to meet you, Ranma – san, Akane – san!" he said, bowing.

"It's nice to meet you too, Shiori." Akane said, smiling. Ranma nodded at him.

"Same here. So. . .why're you guarding Mariko?"

Mariko turned to stone, and once again slapped a hand against her forehead. Oh, how she hated the story. . .

Shiori, on the other hand, grinned even wider, if that was possible. "Oh, you see, it's because Mariko – sama's a goddess!"

Yet another silence. Mariko was seriously going to lose brain cells if she kept hitting her palm against her face.

"A. . .goddess?"

"Uh huh! See, there's an ancient prophecy back in China, where it says that a girl will fall into the Spring of Drowned Fox, and she will be the reincarnation of the goddess Inari. And then we found Mariko – sama in fox form after she fell in Jusenkyo, and we knew we found her!"

Ranma and Akane's eyes widened and turned to Mariko, who looked like she wanted to melt into the floor. Or maul Shiori. Or possibly both.

"You fell in at Jusenkyo?!"

Mariko remained silent for a second before sighing. "Yeah. . .I'm not proud of it, especially after I was being careful not to fall in. . ."

"But Mariko – sama!" Shiori suddenly lunged across the broken table, throwing his arms around Mariko's waist. "You're a goddess! You were meant to fall into the spring!!"

"No, I was not, and I'm not a goddess! Get off!" she shook her arm, trying to get the other to let go. "Let go, Shiori!"

Ranma and Akane watched as Mariko desperately tried to detach Shiori from her lower body. A few minutes later, she finally succeeded, and the boy sat down next to her, although he still looked like he was ready to pounce again.

Another silence was ensured. Then Mariko coughed and stood up. "Well. . .I guess I should find something to eat, huh?"

"Oh, that's not a problem, Mariko – sama!" Shiori said. "I already ordered take – out!"

"You did? From where?"

"The Neko Hanten!"

Mariko, Akane, and Ranma had mixed reactions. Mariko smiled at him, and mumbled a 'thanks'. Akane stared at him in disbelief. Ranma, however, gulped loudly.

Oh, great. . .

A second later, the sounds of a bicycle bell could be heard and then a crash from above. Mariko yelped, covering her head with her arms, while Shiori scrambled to cover her as well. Akane, who had moved out of the way, growled at the cause, while Ranma frantically tried to find a hiding place. The dust cleared, to reveal a young buxom girl with purple hair, and carrying a ramen box.

"Aiya!!" she cried, seeing Ranma. "Nihao, Airen!"

Then she caught sight of Mariko, who was closest to Ranma at the time, and glared. "Who you? Another fiancée?"

Mariko, still stunned at the entrance of the Amazon, only stuttered, the accusation of her being engaged to Ranma not registering in her mind.

Shiori, however, did. Popping out from his place under the shattered roof tiles, he shouted "Mariko's – sama's a goddess!"

Said girl immediately whirled on him. "I am not! Stop saying that!" She turned back to Shampoo. "I don't know who you are, but what do you think you're doing, destroying someone's house roof like that?!"

"Shampoo bring ramen. And door take too long." The Chinese Amazon placed the food on the ground, then promptly glomped Ranma, and flung her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder. "Shampoo miss you, Airen. . ."

Ranma jumped. "Get off me, Sham—agh!"

The pigtailed martial artist never got to finish, as he was launched across the room, courtesy of Akane and a roof tile.

"What the hell was that for, Akane?!"

"I can't believe you!! Cuddling up to that _bimbo_!! In another person's house!! Do you have no shame?!"

"It wasn't like I _asked_ her to hug me!"

"Oh, _sure_ you didn't!"

"You stay out of this, Violent Girl! You just jealous because Ranma love Shampoo!"

"WHAT?! I DO NOT!!"

"RANMA!"

The two forgotten teenagers stared at the three martial artists in awe. Wow. Those guys were really. . .something.

"Um. . .hey. . ."

"Maybe if Violent Girl learn to cook—"

"Actually, yeah, Akane, that'd be nice. . ."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Hey—"

"YOU PERVERT!"

"Hang on, Akane—!"

"You leave Airen alone!"

"HEY!!"

All three froze; Ranma, his hands over his head while Akane's mallet was inches from his head, and said girl furious. Shampoo was still attached to Ranma's neck, trying to keep Akane's weapon away with one hand. Mariko placed her hands on her hips.

"Thank you! Now. . .what's this all about?"

"Ranma Shampoo husband!"

"WHAT?! You're married at sixteen?!"

"WHen did this happen, Ranma?!"

"What?! No, wait!! I'm not married to Shampoo!!"

"RANMA NO BAKA!"

And before Mariko could tell Akane to stop, she sent Ranma flying through the roof of her house and into LEO. Shampoo and Mariko gasped at the exit, and the former turned and glared at Akane.

"Look what Violent Girl do!!" she huffed and grabbed the ramen box. "Violent Girl lucky Shampoo have to get back to work!"

With that, the Chinese Amazon jumped out of the hole she had made earlier in the wall and roof - hopped back to the Cat Cafe.

Akane leered after her. "Good riddance!"

"My. . .house. . ."

AKane then remembered her new friend. She turned to the stunned girl, who was staring at the wall with horror in her eyes.

"M - Mariko - sama. . .?" Shiori offered, placing a hand on her shoulder. A second later, Mariko fell backwards, unconscious. Seeing that he was standing behind her, Shiori caught her in his arms. "Mariko - sama!"

Akane rubbed the back of her head. "Uh. . .maybe you should lay her down. . ."

* * *

_"Hey there, it's Mariko. Today marks a week I've been in Nerima and_—_huh? There's some stalker after Ukyou? And. . .she's also competing for her lover with _Ranma_? . . .I think I should move."_

**Next time on _Fans and Foxes_, Here Comes Tsubasa Kurenai! See ya then!**


	2. Episode Two: Here Comes Tsubasa Kurenai!

. . .So, like I said on my profile, I have to rewrite everything because I lost all my files. . .so here it is, and hopefully, this isn't wreaked as well. . .

8 / 25 / 10: HOLY CRAP, I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. This. . .went over several drafts, and I _finally_ got through one I liked. . .now, let's just hope the next chapter doesn't take another two years. . .;;;;

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½. I only own Mariko, Shiori, and their families / pasts.

Reviewer Replies:

**Elle;** . . .Um. . .if you're going to tell me she's a Mary Sue, can ya at _least_ tell me _why_? I mean, yeah, I guess Ukyou wouldn't be kind to her since _Ranma's_ nice to her, but still. . .and as for my paragraphs, they seem longer when I write them on Word. . .

**Digital Dragon Productions;** Well, technically, she _isn't_ a goddess; she's actually just a normal girl. . .who is just called one. I think. You know people in Ranma—they overreact over small things. . .as for her curse, it's just a regular old animal one, like Ryouga's, but Shiori's clan decided that the pool was. . .well, magical. And, they're pretty quiet, so the Amazons leave them alone, and the Musk and Phoenix clans don't really care, since their animals. Shiori's clan, not the Musk / Phoenix clans.

**Super Vegeta;** First of all. I'll remember that. Secondly, just _how_ is she a Mary – Sue? And thirdly, I _know_ that. It's just that when I named her, I forgot about Canon!Mariko. . .and, by the time I remembered, I couldn't change My!Mariko's name, since I roleplay her in my friend's roleplay. . .and, besides, this'll give me a idea for when Canon!Mariko shows up. . .-insert evil laughter-

**NOTE:** The reason Shiori calls Mariko 'Mariko – sama' is because I think it sounds better then 'Lady Mariko'. Am I right? Mariko – sama just flows better for some reason, I dunno. : /

**NOTE 2:** This chapter will be in Mariko's POV, since this _is_ about _her_ adventure(s) in Nerima.  
. . .I think I should've started this last chapter. . .

**Fans and Foxes Episode Two: Here Comes Tsubasa Kurenai!**

_Bzzzzzt! Bzzzzzt! Bzz_-

The alarm was abruptly cut short as my hand slammed down on the 'off' button. I groaned, rolled over, then sat up, yawning. It was another day in Nerima, and I was. . .I looked towards the clock, then again a second time when I realized what time it was.

"I'M LATE?"

I could hear Shiori chuckle nervously in the kitchen, already up long before I was. I ran from my room to the bathroom, then ran back out and back again, brushing my teeth and changing at the same time trying to get ready for school. As I ran towards the door Shiori held out a plate of food, and a bag with my lunch in it. I smiled at him. "Thanks, Shiori. . ."

He smiled back. "No problem, Mariko - sama!"

If I wasn't so late I would have corrected him ( again ), but instead I nodded back and ran off, a piece of toast in my mouth like in the cartoons. It's been a week since Shiori and I came to Nerima, and I think I've finally settled in. Well, as much as I can when almost everyone around you is obsessed with someone else.

Don't get me wrong; I think it'd be nice to be in love with someone. But, constantly following them around and asking them for a date, or fighting with someone over who's engaged to whom? Yeah. . .that's a bit too much for me.

Plus, apparently everyone's a martial artist of some kind. Ranma and Akane are from the Saotome and Tendou School of Martial Arts Indiscriminate Grappling, Ukyou ( Kuonji, who makes really good okonomiyaki ), is a martial artist of. . .okonomiyaki, and Shampoo is a Chinese Amazon. They still have them. Who knew?

Me? Well. . .yeah, I was trained in my family's martial art style, but. . .I hate fighting. Not exactly _hate_ it, but I just don't fight unless it's absolutely necessary. These guys, though. . .any disagreement, any at all, and the fighting starts. It's so _weird_. Especially when it's about who's married to Ranma. _Especially_ then.

Akane had explained to me about all of Ranma's engagements to all these girls, after we fixed the hole Shampoo had made. It must suck to be him. I wouldn't want that many people after me.

School's been. . .alright, I guess. I got used to either seeing Akane get mad at Ranma for not eating the lunch she made, or having Shampoo crash through the wall and bringing Ranma lunch from the Nekohanten. Both, sometimes. And I got introduced to one of Ranma _and_ Akane's most persistent suitor. . .

Tatewaki Kuno - sempai. I met him a few days ago, when I accidentally knocked him down while running to school. In my defense, he just popped out of nowhere! If I knew he was going to suddenly show up in my running path, I would've dodge. . .

It wasn't until the next day, when he was waiting for me at the school gates, did I learn of his newfound affections for me. . .Akane said it was because he fell in love with anyone who beat him. . .or, in my case, knocked over. _Joy_.

Today, though, when I ran up to the school, I noticed that Kuno - sempai wasn't waiting for me. Probably because I was late, so he was already in class and what the heck was going on?

I screeched to a halt, stopping just before the school gates. Ukyou, in her boy's uniform, stood over a girl with a statue on her head. Wondering what was happening _now_, I skirted around them, heading up to the classroom as Ranma jumped off the balcony to talk to Ukyou and the weird girl. Maybe Akane would have the answers. . .

* * *

"WHAT? That girl's in love with Ukyou?"

Akane nodded, as we looked down from the balcony with a bunch of other girls and our lunches. Ukyou, a female Ranma, and the girl from this morning were standing near the school doors, the latter two waiting for Ukyou to finish cooking.

"She. . .DOES know Ukyou's a girl. . .right?"

Another nod. "Apparently, she's only interested in girls. Which, I guess that's why she's jealous of Ranma."

I frowned. That. . .didn't make much sense. Unless Ranma was pretending to be a female with Ukyou. . .though, why didn't Ukyou just claim she was straight? Oh, well. . .

"START!" a voice boomed over the intercom, and Ranma and the girl- I think her name was Tsuabsa- charged forward. In minutes, Tsubasa's container was emptied, while Ranma's was still completely full.

I followed Akane down to Ranma, who had just sent Kuno - sempai flying. Really, when will he realize Ranma's actually a boy? I couldn't really understand how anyone could not see it; _especially_ when they changed right in front. . .of. . .you.

I blinked, then leaned in towards Akane. ". . .Why is Ranma wearing a _bunny suit_?"

Akane looked confused, before turning, then turning red with anger. She stormed towards Ranma, a furious look on her face. I took the opportunity to leave then. I didn't want to get involved further. . .

* * *

"Geh. . .look at all that rain. . ."

I stared out of the store, my head in my hands, sighing. Next to me, Shiori chuckled.

"It's a good thing you got home early then, right. . .? Otherwise you would've been caught in it. . ."

"Yeah. . ." I had rushed home to help Shiori with my store. I owned a fan store, where I made most of the fans myself. My mom taught me how, before she. . .before she died. There were a few things from my family, too, but it wasn't much. . .and I didn't like them anyways, so I tried avoiding doing things their way.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"What the-?"

Shiori and I watched through the windows as Ranma ran by, as a. . .giant demon holding flowers chased after her? What the heck?

"Mariko - sama, did you see. . .?"

"I. . .think so. I'm not sure if I believe it, though. . ."

* * *

". . .A boy's school."

"Yup. Apparently, Tsubasa's a boy who just likes to 'dress up' in girl's clothing."

". . .So, he's a crossdresser. . .?"

"No, just a. . .boy, who likes to dress up."

I face palmed. Akane patted my shoulder.

". . .It's too late to move, huh?"

"Unfortunately."


End file.
